Questions & Answers about Kelnerka podaje nam zupę dnia i wodę.
Why is kelnerka used here instead of kelner?
Kelnerka means waitress, while kelner means waiter. The sentence specifically uses the feminine noun, so it tells you the server is female.
This noun ends in -ka, which is a very common feminine ending in Polish:
- kelner = waiter
- kelnerka = waitress
What does podaje mean exactly?
Podaje is the 3rd person singular present tense of podawać.
Here it means something like:
- serves
- is serving
- literally sometimes gives/handing over, depending on context
So Kelnerka podaje nam zupę dnia i wodę means the waitress serves us the soup of the day and water.
Polish present tense often covers both English simple present and present continuous:
- podaje = serves / is serving
Why is it nam and not my or nas?